The emperor personally led an expedition against Tuyuhun and intimidated the countries in the Western Regions. Such an achievement was enough to make the emperor confident in front of his court officials, so he naturally couldn't wait to start the banquet.
The western clouds turned red. In the dim room, Lu Liangsheng came out from behind the screen and put on the Qilin cloak. Hong Lian came over and pulled the scholar's hand away, straightening his clothes. The scholar smiled and turned his head to look at the Toad Taoist who was still slumped on the small shop.
"Master, come with me to the palace. This banquet will surely satisfy your appetite."
On the edge of the bed, Toad Taoist sat up, rubbing his eyes, nodded dazedly, yawned, walked to the small wardrobe at the end of the bed, took out a black robe with wide sleeves, tied it with a belt, kicked up his webbed feet, and jumped into the hands of his apprentice.
"Let's go, let's go. I've had enough sleep, so it's a good time to go for a walk outside."
The officials in the imperial palace were very powerful, so Hong Lian had no way of getting close to them. She could only lean on the window frame with her chin propped up, watching the young man who walked out of the roof turn around and wave at her as he left, muttering to herself.
"What does the palace look like..."
Lu Liangsheng naturally could not hear the woman's mumbling. When he got out of the mountain gate, there was a carriage waiting for him. He got in. The shaft of the carriage slowly turned, and the body of the carriage swayed slightly as it headed towards the long street.
"Make way! Peddler in front, please move your bamboo basket!"
The soldier driving the carriage shouted ahead. The long street was noisy and his voice could be heard for a while before the peddler walking in front of the carriage reacted and moved to the side of the street with his load on his shoulder.
Inside the fluttering carriage curtain, the scholar looked at the noisy and lively street and lowered the curtain. He put the master in his sleeve on the low table and looked at the Toad Taoist with drooping eyelids and a drowsy look, and frowned slightly.
"Master, are you still taking the Dream Pills recently?"
“I don’t eat it often.”
The Toad Taoist yawned, patted his mouth, and stretched out his two short legs. His webbed feet stretched out one by one with difficulty as his legs were stretched out.
"… How long will it take? I'll take a nap first, call me when we get there."
Lu Liangsheng would never let him continue sleeping. Not only did the elixir taste strange, he also wanted to know the dream that Toad Taoist had talked about that day.
He hastily reached out his hand to pull at his master's eyelids, causing the Toad Taoist to slap his fingers away and bulge his eyes: "What are you doing?! How dare you touch me when I'm asleep!"
"Master, I just don't want you to fall asleep." Lu Liangsheng thought about it and decided to ask directly. He lifted his master onto his lap and asked Toad Taoist about his dream that day. Toad Taoist waved his flippers impatiently and said, "Didn't I tell you last time that the dream was pitch black and boundless, with many pairs of eyes shining brightly, peering in the dark. I was embarrassed to see it."
Lu Liangsheng pursed his lips and memorized every word of his master's words. Then he asked, "Master, do you remember what you were wearing in your dream?"
"I don't remember." The Toad Taoist blew on the membrane attached to the frog's web.
As he was speaking, the gently swaying car body slowly stopped, and the voice of the soldier driving the car was heard outside: "State Master, we are here."
"Master, get off the car."
Lu Liangsheng put the Toad Taoist priest out of his sleeve pocket, lifted the curtain and got out. It was already dark in his sight, and warm red lanterns extended along the palace eaves and columns. He went up the white rock steps, and a eunuch came up to him attentively, smiled flatteringly, and walked to the side to lead the way.
"Master, please come this way. His Majesty is hosting a banquet for the soldiers who are going on this expedition in the Wude Hall. Master, please be careful with your steps..."
The eunuch muttered a bunch of flattering words as he walked past the rows of lanterns along the palace eaves. At the end of the stretch was a Wude Hall, which was often used to entertain civil and military officials in the court, or generals who had made meritorious contributions in battles outside. Before he could get through, the guards at the door straightened their backs, and the eunuch on duty nearby quickly retreated to the door of the hall and shouted loudly.
"The Imperial Master has arrived!"
Lu Liangsheng lifted the hem of his robe and stepped into the palace. There was a lot of noise inside. Many drunken generals in the army pulled others aside and urged them to drink. Some also raised their glasses to toast the emperor who was sitting in the first seat. When they heard the loud noises from the eunuchs outside the door, they all stopped and bowed to Lu Liangsheng who came in.
They all said in unison: "Greetings to the Imperial Master!"
The generals leading other fronts had more or less heard about the battle in Dadouba Valley. They had fought with the imperial masters of the Three Kingdoms in the palace in the past and sent the late emperor to the underworld. How could they dare to neglect him? They made friends with the imperial masters. If they died one day in the future, they might be treated like the late emperor, say goodbye to their families, chat with relatives and friends, and leave the world happily. That would be a perfect life.
Lu Liangsheng shook out his wide sleeves, bowed, and turned around. He saw Qu Yuanfeng in the crowd, smiled at him, and indicated that there was no need to come over to greet him. Then he strode to the front of the golden steps and bowed.
"I have seen your majesty."
"Master, there's no need to be so polite." Yang Guang's face flushed, and he walked out of the dragon table with a smell of alcohol, walked down the imperial steps, and personally helped Lu Liangsheng to go, "The banquet started first, and I didn't wait for you, Master. Please don't blame me."
Lu Liangsheng chuckled twice. He naturally didn't care about these details. He exchanged a few words with the emperor and was invited to the side of the golden steps, where he sat on a seat covered with tiger skin. While the palace maids served the dishes and poured the wine, he glanced across the huge palace and did not see the old man.
"Your Majesty, Duke Yue is not here?"
Behind the dragon case, Yang Guang, who was talking to a general, put down his cup, his smile faded, and he whispered, "I sent someone to invite him, but he didn't come to the palace until now. I guess he doesn't want to celebrate for me and my generals."
Yang Guang was probably angry, so he didn't want to say more about it. Seeing the civil and military officials in the hall standing there in a daze, he shook off his previous gloom and laughed, "Keep drinking, keep making noise!"
Afterwards, he took the drinks and walked over there, mingling with the rough and sturdy generals, chatting about some interesting things in the Northwest War, and laughing heartily.
During the banquet, the atmosphere was lively and cheerful. Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting over there, was naturally no exception. He came over to try his hand at the officials' flattery. During this time, Qu Yuanfeng also came over and drank a few glasses with his master. He was then sent back by the scholar to toast with everyone else.
"Things are different now. You should interact more with His Majesty and other officials in the future. You can't be as arrogant as the monks there. The matter of Dadouba Valley was the last time I helped you. You have to walk the rest of the way on your own."
"Disciple, take note!"
"Go over and have a drink with them!"
Watching Qu Yuanfeng walking towards the bustling crowd while looking back every now and then, Lu Liangsheng sighed, took a bite of food and chewed it slowly, occasionally taking a piece and shaking it in his sleeve. The Toad Taoist stretched out his long tongue, rolled it into his mouth, and rubbed it slowly. His bean-sized toad eyes looked at the palace outside his sleeves, and a hint of red appeared in his eyes.
Soon after, the banquet was over, and the generals who had been making a fuss all night came to bid farewell to the emperor in twos and threes. Lu Liangsheng also bowed to them and prepared to leave the Golden Palace. Yang Guang was also a little drunk. He staggered and supported the stone sculptures on the stone railings. He looked at the civil and military officials who were leaving and smiled, "Sir, look at them. Are they different after seeing me?"
With drunken eyes, he looked at Lu Liangsheng who was standing next to him. He didn't know whether he was talking drunkenly or what he had been holding in his heart, but he blurted it all out at once.
"Sir... I didn't disappoint you... right... I didn't disappoint my father either... Thanks to today's achievement, I can finally stand up straight and speak... I finally don't have to worry about those ministers... those subjects saying behind my back that I stepped on my brother's shoulders to sit on this throne..."
Lu Liangsheng sighed. He knew that the emperor in front of him had a lot of burdens on his shoulders when he ascended the throne. Yang Jian was a rare talent in the world, and his son Yang Guang faced pressure. The rumors that followed his ascension to the throne after the abolition of Yang Yong made the emperor feel a little resentful, but he dared not express it.
"Mr. Lu... you think so... and that Yang Su, who is taking advantage of his age, let me see how I will deal with him in the future... and he keeps scolding me in front of me, treating me like a kid..."
Lu Liangsheng supported the stumbling Yang Guang and called the two eunuchs who dared not step forward, "Your Majesty is drunk, take him to the palace to rest."
"Yes, Imperial Master."
Two eunuchs hurried forward, carefully supporting the emperor on the left and right. As they walked to the palace gate, Yang Guang struggled a few times, turned back and shouted: "I... am not afraid anymore! From now on, I will take drastic measures... to fulfill the last wish of the late emperor, and no one can stop me—"
After shouting a few times, he was helped into the palace gate by the eunuch. Lu Liangsheng wiped off the smell of alcohol on his body, walked straight to the square where he came from, and took a carriage to the direction of the palace gate.
"Master, are you satisfied with the banquet in the palace today?"
In the shaking carriage, Lu Liangsheng poured himself a cup of tea to sober up from the alcohol. After a long while, no sound came from his sleeves, nor did he hear his master's snoring. He reached out and touched his wide sleeves, but they were empty, and there was no trace of the Toad Taoist priest.
"Is the master still in the palace?"
…
Wude Hall.
The drunken emperor broke away from the two eunuchs who were supporting him. His red face no longer had the drunken look he had before. He waved his dragon sleeves and sent the people around him away.
He sat on the dragon throne alone, picked up the wine glass on the table, grinned, and his chuckle gradually became louder and louder until he burst into laughter.
"Eliminate Tuyuhun... The next one is you, Duke of Yue Yang Su. No one can stand in my way. The First Emperor built the Great Wall to stop the Xiongnu. I will build the Grand Canal to benefit the people of the world. I can also achieve eternal achievements... and leave my name forever!"
Outside the hall, lanterns were creaking and swaying. The moonlight dragged the hall master's shadow slowly lengthening on the ground. As the emperor behind the dragon table picked up the wine glass and poured it into his mouth, a sound suddenly rang out in the empty hall.
"You want to learn from me?! You want to be the emperor for all eternity..."
who?!
The cup was hovering next to Yang Guang's mouth. He was suddenly awakened by the sound. He stood up and looked around. The dishes on the table were in a mess, and the lampposts in the hall were burning and swaying in the wind.
The sound continued to echo for a long time.
"If you want to learn from me and become the emperor of eternity, have you ever asked me..."
"Who are you?!"
Yang Guang threw the wine glass in his hand to the ground and shouted to the palace guards, but no one responded. With a clang, he drew out the long sword on the sword rack, stumbled to the hall, looked around, and shouted sternly: "Who, come out!"
"who?"
The voice laughed, echoing throughout the palace.
"Didn't you just mention me?"